Bargaining
by Janeway1390
Summary: After the riot Sara believes Michael is dead. When she learns otherwise she starts to wonder if she has feelings for him. SaMi
1. Prologue

**Summary:** After the riot Sara believes Michael is dead, but when she sees him alive she wonders if there are feelings between them.

**A/N:** This is a prologue to my SaMi story. Tell me if you like it and if I should continue.

Dr. Sara Tancredi sat on the edge of the ambulance trying to get over the shock of what had just happened to her and how it could have been so much worse. She knew she should be helping the injured and doing something to help, but she was in shock. Too many thoughts were pouring through her mind and she couldn't think. The only thing that stood out in her mind was a face. The image belonged to Michael Scofield, her savior.

It was strange, he was a criminal yet while the other inmates tried to rape her he risked everything to save her and while she was safe he may have been caught in the crossfire. Sara remembered the first time she saw him. Michael had come in for his insulin shot and at first he seemed like every other prisoner, she soon learned that he was different. For one he was charming. Most of the inmates were or at least tried to be, but he seemed sincere and despite her better judgement she trusted him. That, at least, did not hurt her like she thought. If it wasn't for Michael she'd probably be dead.

"Dr. Tancredi! I'm glad to see you made it out okay."

"Thanks," she said giving him a small smile. "Hey when did you have PI clean out mold in A-wing?"

"We'd never have prisoners do that," he said shaking his head. So Michael lied to her. It disappointed her more than she'd like. There was a great deal of mystery surrounding Michael and she wanted to know what he was hiding.

A moment later someone else was standing in front of her. She looked up to see an older man holding a clipboard. "Sorry to disturb you Doctor, but you asked to see a list of dead and injured inmates."

She took the list without saying a word to the man. As she skimmed through the list she was filled with fear and as she reached the end her heart sank. The second to last name read 'Scofield, Michael'. So they got him. She told him as much. After all sharpshooters don't miss. Sara didn't even fight back the urge to cry, she let the tears fall, but she was somewhat baffled by them. She hadn't known Michael that long and she only saw him to administer his shots, but she still couldn't hide her emotion.

For the first time that she could remember she felt empty. The world just seemed to stop. Why had Michael's death affected her so? Did she love him? No, but he had touched her heart and maybe in time . . .

Sara didn't know what to do next, but she knew she couldn't stay here. Wiping the tears from her face and taking one last look at the list she stood up and walked to her car.


	2. Feelings

The silence cut through him like a knife. After the day's events the inmates that weren't dead or hurt were quietly sleeping in their cells. All except Michael Scofield. The day started out like any other, he had focused all his efforts on the escape, but by turning off the air conditioning he had started a riot that led to the death of an innocent CO, T-Bag had found out about their plan, and Dr. Tancredi had nearly been raped and killed.

Sara.

She seemed to occupy his thoughts lately. It scared him how much he thought about her. His main priority was to break his brother out, but when he wasn't thinking about that he was thinking about Sara. When he had saved her she was shaking with fear and it pained him to see her like that. Michael rolled onto his side and closed his eyes. Maybe he would see her tomorrow when he went in for his shot. He wanted to believe it, but he knew she wouldn't be there in the morning.

* * *

Just as he suspected, Sara wasn't there the next morning, or the morning after that. It had been one week since the riot and Sara had not shown up. A nurse had been giving him his shots and he wondered with a sinking feeling if Sara would ever come back. This experience could have pushed her over the edge and her father may have convinced her to leave the prison. As much as he tried to rationalize her absence he was still disappointed. She was the only good thing that had happened to him while he was in prison.

* * *

Sara shivered as she walked into the prison. She had taken a week off, but it didn't really help. She was able to get through the days, but the nights were the worst. She would relive the events of the riot over and over, but when it came to the point where Michael rescued her, Sara's mind would stop. She still wasn't sure why he had such an effect on her and she stopped trying to. He wasn't a bad man, she believed the contrary actually. While she was positive there was something he was hiding, she didn't really care. Now he was dead and that was something she was going to have to live with.

As she walked through the infirmary Dr. Tancredi was met with greetings from nurses and other workers saying how good it was to have to her. Sara just smiled at them. Her plan was to go through her charts and go home. She figured it was best to get back into a routine.

There was a stack of charts in her hand when she walked through the door to meet her first patient, but she hadn't looked at any of them. She sighed and looked up. Staring at her was a man she never thought she'd see again.

**A/N** Thanks so much for the reviews and keep them coming!


	3. Realization

"I never thought you'd come back," Michael said smiling at her. Sara could barely register what he was saying. Why was he smiling? She closed her eyes and shook her head, making sure what she was seeing was real. Sara willed herself not to cry when she realized that it was really Michael Scofield sitting in front of her.

Silently composing herself, Dr. Tancredi walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of insulin. Without a word she sat next to him and gave him his shot. Though she couldn't see, she knew his eyes were on her.

"I just want you to know you don't owe me anything."

"I owe you my life," Sara said looking up for the first time. "And I thought you lost yours."

"What?"

"There was a list of dead inmates and your name was on it. I guess they made a mistake."

Michael was quiet for a moment, he looked out the window and saw the back of a guard, seeing it was safe he softly laid his hand on hers. "I wasn't even hurt." Michael swore she squeezed his hand before pulling it away.

"Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Scofield?" Sara tried her best to keep her tone professional, but the air in the room was anything but.

"No," he said disappointed. "Thanks, Doc."

Her back was to him and he saw her nod. Michael stood up and walked to the door, where a guard was waiting to take him back to his cell.

The door shut with a soft click. Sara stared at the chair Michael once occupied and sighed. This time she let the tears fall. Seeing him alive filled the black void she'd been harboring since the riot. Her heart burst with joy when she walked into the room to see him smiling at her. Sara would have hugged him if it was possible, but in the last week the warden had posted extra security in the infirmary.

It was a hard realization, but she knew part of her was falling in love with Michael. It confused her because he was an inmate and there were many reasons why she shouldn't have feelings for him, but her heart told her that Michael was a good person. He may have made mistakes, but Sara knew he wasn't horrible like many of the other men at Fox River.

The idea of a relationship with an inmate never occurred to her and it wouldn't be anything she would pursue with Michael. At least not until he got out. In the meantime she would try to find out more about Michael Scofield and why he was lying to her. She knew he was up to something and she desperately wanted to know what it was.

Michael was in the yard sitting with Sucre and Abruzzi discussing the breakout and how to deal with T-Bag. For once his mind wasn't really on the escape, instead it was on Sara. He glanced up at the infirmary window and wondered what she was doing.

He knew he should focus all his thoughts on breaking his brother out, but lately he couldn't help it. He was touched that she was sad over his 'supposed' death. Michael knew she was trying to hide her emotion, but the look in her eye and the tone of her voice gave her away.

The whistles blew, a sound that meant it was time for them to go back to their cells. As he walked back, he saw a figures walking out of the prison on the other side of the fence. Michael stopped to get a better look and knew it was Sara. As if sensing his eyes on her she turned around and stared at him through the fence. He wasn't sure how long they stood there, but he wished it was longer. Before turning and walking to the parking lot she gave him a faint smile.

After lingering a moment longer Michael turned around and swore at himself. When he first arrived at Fox River he had a plan to break his brother out and that was all he planned to do. He didn't expect to meet Sara and he certainly didn't expect to fall in love with her.


	4. Escape

Over the next few weeks Michael and Sara's visits were slightly awkward. Neither brought up the day Sara returned to work or their unspoken feelings toward each other. Sara was still trying to figure out what Michael was up to, but since they hardly talked it was becoming difficult.

She noticed that over the last week Michael had been more distant than usual. Sara figured it was due to the fact that is brother was scheduled to be executed in five days. The weight of that had obviously been taking a toll on Michael. There were dark circles under his eyes and he looked like he had stopped eating. Every time he came in for his shots she tried to get him to open up, but her efforts failed.

The only time he seemed to acknowledge her presence was when he was in the yard and she would walk out of the prison to go to her car. She'd catch him staring and would sometimes give him a small smile, which he would return.

That all changed when Michael walked into the infirmary on Wednesday morning. It was the day before Lincoln was going to be executed and instead of being somber Michael seemed to be more lively. There was a twinkle in his eye that Sara had rarely seen and it made her smile.

"How are you feeling today, Mr. Scofield?"

"I've been better, but no worse than yesterday."

She watched as he rolled up his sleeve and she cleaned the area where she would give him his shot. What surprised her is every time she put the needle in his arm he seemed to flinch, even if it was slight. After being a diabetic for so long, Sara thought he'd be used to needles.

"Alright, we're done here. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Michael opened his mouth to say something, then seemed to think better of it and just shook his head. He stood up and walked to the door, then turned before opening it.

"Thank you, Dr. Tancredi. For everything." Without waiting for her response he opened the door and left. It was an odd statement to Sara and somehow it felt like goodbye.

* * *

It was the night of the escape and Michael, Lincoln, Sucre, and Abruzzi had made it to the infirmary without incident. They had drugged T-Bag and he was currently unconscious somewhere between the cell Michael shared with Sucre and the infirmary. He would be the only link of the escape left to handle the blame.

On their way out Michael notice Sara's white coat hanging in the coat rack and quickly dropped a letter into one of it's pockets. After that the group ran quietly into the night.

The next morning Sara walked into chaos. She quickly learned that four inmates had escaped over night. One of them was Michael Scofield. She finally knew his secret and Sara wasn't sure if she was angry that he deceived her or sad that he was gone.

* * *

It had taken her an hour to get to the infirmary. There was a cavalcade of newscasters and investigators throughout the prison. She was surprised to find that there were many officers in sickbay. Apparently the infirmary was part of the escape route. Sara cursed herself, feeling that Michael used her and that she allowed it to happen.

Dr. Tancredi pulled on her lab coat angrily and reached into her pocket for a pen. Instead she pulled out a white piece of folded paper with 'Sara' written on the front. She unfolded it and read what it said:

_Dear Sara,_

_I'm sorry. I hope you understand that I had to do this to save my brother. Not many people believe he is innocent, but I know he is. I know what you're thinking and it's not true. I was not using you. It took me a while to realize it, but I care about you. More than I thought I would. It was never my intention to hurt you and I'm sorry if I have. Maybe one day we'll meet again. Soon I hope. Take care._

_Love,_

_Michael Scofield_

Sara read it over again, then tucked it back in her pocket. She still felt hurt, but she understood why he did it. In a way it made her feel better. Michael wasn't a bad person. He did what he had to do to save his family. Too bad the stakes were so high.

Sara looked out the window at the rising sun and where Michael was now. For all she knew he could be hiding somewhere inChicago or he could be halfway to Mexico. Wherever he was she hoped he would be safe and maybe he was right. Maybe they would meet again someday.

**A/N** Well that's the end of this story, but for those who are interested this is a post-breakout sequel coming up. Thanks for reading!


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